IPSSSDR Stage Stop 2013: 23 teams, 368 dogs will race

Posted: Tuesday, Jan 15th, 2013From staff and wire reports

EVANSTON — The largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states this year will feature 23 teams carried along by a total of some 368 dogs. And the race will wrap up this year in Evanston, which will host the race’s closing banquet Feb. 2.

The 2013 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race is scheduled to begin at the Jackson Town Square on Jan. 25. From Jackson, it will run through West Yellowstone, Mont., then through the Wyoming communities of Alpine, Pinedale, Cora, Lander, Big Piney/Marbleton, Kemmerer, Mountain View, Lyman and then, finally, to Evanston.

Also near Evanston will be the Junior Musher Race, slated for 2 p.m. Feb. 2 at the North Slope Trail Head — where the race will finish at about 3 p.m.

New for this year will be a side-by-side start. That means two teams at a time will jockey for position as they race down a street on their way out of town.

The nine-day race will cover parts of four states — Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana — before wrapping up with an awards banquet at the Machine Shop in Evanston on Feb. 2. The banquet, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m., is open to the public. Tickets are $17 for adults, $10 for children.

For more information about the race, log on to www.wyomingstagestop.org.